Average Person Placed On Hold Gets Fed Up Within 9 Minutes, Study Says

CBS Local — A survey published by Jive Communications polled 2,000 people to study how American consumers deal with waiting for service. According to the results, the average 18 to 35-year-old will stay on the phone on hold for up to 11 minutes before getting frustrated with customer service. That’s three minutes longer than the average person over the age of 55.

Millennials were also found to be the most patient group when it came to waiting for food; holding their temper 21 minutes longer than any other generation before getting fed up with the delay. “Attention to customer satisfaction will determine which companies succeed and which companies crumble,” Jive spokesperson Sterling Snow said, via StudyFinds.

Researchers also found that millennials were willing to put up with several more foul-ups from businesses than their parents were. A third of millennials in the poll said they wouldn’t complain about being served the wrong drink in a restaurant. Only 12 percent of adults 55 and over said the same.

Roughly 39 percent of young adults claimed they would go back to a business after having a bad experience; compared to just 23 percent of seniors. An extremely forgiving 15 percent of millennials told researchers they’d be fine finding a hole in a new piece of clothing.

Overall, nearly eight in 10 Americans said they would likely complain about a bad experience with customer service. Roughly 35 percent still prefer to use the telephone instead of social media to make their displeasure known.